Tigers pull away from W. Hoops late

Even though the Penn women's basketball team couldn't hold a lead against Princeton, senior Colleen Kelly scored her 1,000th point. It's not often that an athlete is showered with flowers and presents after a tough loss. But that's exactly what happened to senior co-captains Colleen Kelly and Michelle Maldonado after the Penn women's basketball team (13-13, 8-6 Ivy League) lost its final game of the season against Princeton (16-10, 10-4), 73-67. Despite the loss, the Quakers had their best season in seven years, finishing in third place in the Ivy League. "We were picked dead last," freshman center Diana Caramanico said. "To come in third is amazing." Kelly finished her career on a high note, scoring her 1,000th career point on a free throw with only 7.2 seconds left in the game. The game was stopped as Penn coach Julie Soriero presented Kelly with a bouquet of flowers. But Kelly refused to put the milestone ahead of the team. "My first priority was to win," Kelly said. "I didn't want to put myself first. It's not fair." The game was tied at 63 with 1:41 left to play before Princeton's Julie Angell hit a driving layup. Following a Penn turnover, Tigers forward Kate Thirolf hit a clutch shot from beyond the arc to give Princeton a five point lead with 50.6 seconds remaining. "Angell came over on a drive. It was a nice handoff, and she hit the shot," Princeton coach Liz Feeley said. "She wanted the ball. That's an indication of the kind of player she is. She played a fantastic game." After Penn forward Jessica Allen made 1-of-2 free throws, she fought for a jump ball on the rebound. But the possession arrow was not pointing Penn's way. Kelly was forced to foul, leaving the Quakers down four with 17.8 seconds left and Princeton at the free throw line. After the foul, the senior guard remained at the other end of the court, almost in tears. Defeat was almost certain, and she was still two points short of 1,000. Time was running out. On the next play, Kelly was fouled by Thirolf, and she went to the line needing to make both free throws. But the first one rimmed out. After Kelly made the second, Penn fouled intentionally, with only 9.4 seconds remaining, and the Quakers called timeout. "I said to the team in that timeout that we might not win the game, but we should try to achieve a milestone for Colleen and put it in her hands," Soriero said. When the Quakers got the ball back, a questionable call put Kelly back at the line. "We got a little help from the refs," said Caramanico with a slight grin. Kelly made the first free throw to become the 12th player in Penn history to reach 1,000 points. That's just one more milestone for the senior, who earlier this season broke the school's record for career three-pointers. Kelly then made the second free throw after the brief celebration. "She passed a couple of times [earlier in the game] when she could've taken the shot because she would have rather had the win," Colleen's mother, Jinny Kelly, said. "I was really excited, happy for her and the team." Maldonado finished the game with eight points and seven rebounds before fouling out with 2:40 remaining and Penn only down two points. While her numbers were slightly down this season, Maldonado was key in the emergence of Caramanico as a star. "I'm appreciative of the freshmen, and I'm appreciative of Colleen for sticking around," Maldonado said. "I'm appreciative of the coaches for not giving up and rebuilding." Caramanico's season established her in the school record book in five different places. Her 524 points were the second most in a single season, as were her 209 field goals made. She twice scored 33 points in a game, tying her for the sixth best game in school history. Caramanico also twice tied the school record for most free throws made in a game, 13, and her 106 for the season was fourth best in Penn history. But Penn was doomed to defeat as Princeton made 6-of-13 (46.2 percent) three pointers in the second half, while the Quakers only managed 1-of-12 (8.3 percent). "It's definitely a part of our offense," Angell said. "If they're overplaying on the three, our drive is wide open." The game went back and forth in the first half before Penn guard Erin Ladley went to the free throw line on four consecutive possessions. She made 7-of-8 to turn an 18-17 deficit into a 24-20 lead. Penn pushed the lead to seven before Princeton's Zakiya Pressley hit a three pointer right before the end of the half. The Tigers started the second half with a 9-2 run to take a three-point lead. The game went back and forth until Maldonado headed to the bench after committing her fourth foul. When Maldonado returned five minutes later, Penn was down four points. The Quakers fought back to tie it at 63, before Princeton's five consecutive points put them ahead for good. Besides Princeton's hot second-half shooting, the Tigers' full-court press may have hurt the Quakers. "We put as much pressure on their ballhandlers as possible for 40 minutes," Feeley said. "I thought we did wear them down a bit." Although Penn only lost the ball in the backcourt twice, the press may have tired out the Quakers, who only used one reserve while the game was in question. Penn was clearly disappointed with the loss to their rivals, especially after beating the Tigers 55-52 at Princeton during winter break. But while the Quakers would have liked to end the season with a victory, Kelly and Maldonado's final season has marked the return of the program to respectability. Daily Pennsylvanian reporters Jules Dessibourg and Kate Goldhaber contributed to this article.